Peter May (TSN) Report

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

May says the C's may back off on their interest for Delk if
Turner continues to play well...

      Boston Celtics
      Team Report posted JULY 17, 1999     

      By TSN correspondent
      Peter May
      Boston Globe
      The Celtics may be one of the more active teams this summer in terms of 
      fielding players for summer leagues. They have one in the current FILA 
      California Summer Pro League in Long Beach and will host a week-long 
      league in Boston at the end of this month. 
      Their entry in the California league got off to a rousing start thanks to 
      one gent in particular -- Paul Pierce. He was a man among boys in those 
      games, pouring in 46 points in one of them. 
      Pierce averaged a cool 27 points a game over the first four -- all Boston 
      wins -- and shot 54 percent from the field. Pierce planned to quit while 
      he was ahead and Walter McCarty was slated to replace him for the 
      remaining four games. 
      Each team is allowed to have three players under contract (free agents 
      don't count) and Pierce, Tony Battie and Vitaly Potapenko played for the 
      Celtics. Battie also played well, averaging 16 points a game. 
      Potapenko, however, was a clear victim of the new rules governing contact. 
      The refs are calling everything and Potapenko was called a lot: 22 fouls 
      in 87 minutes, including seven fouls in 18 minutes in one game (players 
      don't foul out in summer leagues). And when he wasn't fouling, he was 
      missing shots. Normally a high-percentage shooter, Potapenko shot 29 
      percent from the field over the first four games. 
      The Celtics will finish up on July 19th and return home. Their own summer 
      league will feature teams from Indiana and New Jersey, among others, and 
      will be held over the final week of July and the first week of August. . . 
      . 
      The Reggie Lewis malpractice trial may have ended, but his unfortunate 
      story goes on. His widow, Donna Harris-Lewis, says she will re-file 
      charges -- the first case ended with a hung jury -- and an insurance 
      company is thinking of hitting up the Celtics for $5 million because Lewis 
      may have lied on the application. 
      After Lewis signed a five-year, $16.5 million deal with Boston, the 
      Celtics sought coverage for the then-huge deal. The Equitable Life 
      Assurance Company of New York insured the deal and one of the questions 
      Lewis was asked was if he ever used drugs. He said he did not. Since then, 
      there have been depositions from individuals who said they did, in fact, 
      do drugs with Lewis, both in college and in the pros. 
      Of the $17 million insured, only $5 million is still collectable under the 
      state's insurance laws. The Equitable would only say through a spokesman 
      that it is "considering out options" regarding reclaiming the $5 million. 
      If they are successful, the Celtics are responsible for the money. 
      PLAYER ANALYSIS 
      Last season was pretty much a waste for Dwayne Schintzius. But Rick Pitino 
      didn't care. He signed Schintzius for two years -- the second is partially 
      guaranteed -- so he could work with the center over the summer and see 
      what he had. 
      Well, Schintzius is not playing in the California Summer League and 
      probably won't play in Boston because he's rehabbing from an injury. 
      Schintzius clearly isn't as important to the big picture now given the 
      arrival of Potapenko. But he has NBA skills and showed them on occasion 
      last year when he did play. Most likely, he will come to training camp and 
      stick around until January, which is when his guarantee expires. 
      WHAT'S NEXT 
      The Celtics are still chatting up agents for players like everyone else, 
      but they also have to wait until August 1 like everyone else before doing 
      anything. 
      Meanwhile, Seattle's Vin Baker has again gone public with his desire to 
      play in Boston, but that doesn't look like it will happen due mainly to 
      salary cap problems. 
      The Celtics remain interested in Tony Delk, but may back off there if 
      Wayne Turner continues to play well for them in summer-league play. Like 
      most teams, the Celtics have two exceptions: the one for $2.1 million for 
      veterans and the other for a little more than $1 million. 


   

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